Freelance animators work for clients in diverse industries such as advertising, design, motion pictures and software. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, independent animators earned an average of $73,030 as of May, 2011. Freelancers negotiate their contracts with clients. Some animators bill clients on a fee-per-second basis, while others prefer to charge their clients on an hourly basis.

Fee Per Second

Animators bill their services to clients on a fee-per-second basis. Fees vary widely by industry, size of client, type of animation and experience. For two dimensional animation, the advertising industry pays $300-$2,000 per second, while corporate animation pays $150-$2,500 per second. Educational work is billed at $125-$1,000 per second. Industrial animation is billed at $150-$1,000 per second. Web animators bill their services at $200-$1,000 per second for large clients and $120-$800 for small clients. Three-dimensional animation fees are 50 percent to 100 percent higher than those for two-dimensional work.

Hourly Billing

The Animation Guild negotiates contracts with studios such as Disney and Sony Pictures on behalf of its members, setting hour wages. The Graphic Artists Guild recommends that freelance animators wishing to bill their services on an hourly basis use the Animation Guild contracts as a guideline. The master collective bargaining agreement sets a minimum hourly wage for animators of $38.37 per hour, or $1,534.80 per week, as of publication. The minimum hourly wage for experienced journeyman animators is set at $40.71 per hour, translating to $1,628.40 per week.

Animation Industry Outlook

The Bureau of Labor Statistics warns that animation jobs will grow by only eight percent in the decade leading up to 2020. Although demand continues for animators for movies, video games and television, many positions are increasingly filled by off-shore workers as companies seek to cut their production costs. In addition, many talented individuals seek to enter the field, making it competitive. The Bureau cites interactive web animation as a growing specialty within the field.

Animator Community

Freelance animators find community with membership in professional commercial artist associations such as The Professional Association for Design and the Graphic Artists Guild. These organizations offer access to affordable health insurance and to tools such as boilerplate contracts for members and job boards. Guild members receive the Graphic Artists Guild Handbook, listing trade practices and going rates for specific animation jobs. The handbook is available for purchase to nonmembers.